“You have to be smart,” Ferentz said. “Everybody’s career is going to end at some point. We all have a picture of when it’s going to end, and when it doesn’t end that way, it’s tough. It’s just not worth taking any unnecessary chances.”

And to be sure, by "unnecessary chances," Ferentz is referring to the vastly increased likelihood that Kanellis's brain would leak out of his ears the next time he concussed himself.

It's always a shame to see a young player's opportunity cut short for medical reasons, and this scenario is no exception. The good news is that Kanellis will probably stick around the program and help the S&C program, much the same way fellow medical casualties Vernon Jackson and Alex Wilcox are doing so.